The use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to assist with Asset management is known. Placing RFID tags on assets allows for constant tracking of an asset's location and status. But these systems often have issues regarding power consumption, as transmitting information can be quite power intensive for the RFID tag. This issue becomes even more severe when the asset management system is being used in an environment where the assets themselves might constantly be moving, both within the owner's property and outside of it.
One example arises in the transit field. Transit officials may use asset management systems with RFID tags to track their vehicles. But there are many situations when the RFID tags may not need to communicate, for example, when the transit vehicle is away from the transit yard as they are likely out of range of a gateway that can receive transmission. Communications may also be limited when vehicles are stationary in the transit yard, for example overnight when transit operations are not occurring. The RFID tag can expend a lot of power transmitting signals when the asset's location and status are not changing. The RFID tag may also not communicate when it is moving, as movement may be detrimental to the reliability of the communication link between a gateway and the RFID tag. It may be desirable, in some of these scenarios, to reduce the frequency of transmissions and/or reception.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a novel method and system for state-based power management of asset tracking systems for non-stationary assets.